2014 JumpStart Community Report | Partnerships Matter

The stories shared in the 2014 JumpStart Community Report illustrate how partnerships can help accelerate entrepreneurial success. JumpStart’s collaborations with entrepreneurs and community leaders leverage individual strengths with the goal of generating positive results more quickly. Read on to learn how these different partnerships truly move the needle and create economic transformation.

Catacel's novel products reduce the fuel used in a wide range of high-temperature chemical reactions, enabling these energy-intensive reactions to occur much more economically. In the early years, the Ravenna, Ohio-based company’s founders bootstrapped its growth. But when the money ran out and self-financing was no longer an option, Catacel applied to JumpStart, receiving an investment in August 2009. Read more ...

The Burning River Coffee Community (BRCC) provides peer support for women entrepreneurs “who are really trying to grow their businesses, but don’t know other women facing their same challenges of raising VC or pivoting their company,” says the group’s founder, Laura Bennett, who is also the CEO/Co-Founder of Embrace Pet Insurance. Read more ...

Angel investments differ from other investments in a very important way: Investors—whether acting individually or as part of a group—are putting their own hard-earned money into a company, in hopes of receiving a return on investment. These investments are critical to the success of young companies, especially in areas of the country where early stage dollars are not quite as plentiful. Read more ...

High-tech startups are a key driver of job creation and young, entrepreneurial companies can lay claim to creating all net new jobs in the U.S. over the last 30 years. So it should be no surprise that communities faced with a loss of industry are working to expand their economic development strategies beyond traditional attraction and retention to include the ability to support the launch and growth of new, tech-based businesses. Read more ...

LifeMedix® has developed a portable medical infusion pump that needs no external electrical power source, making it useful for military medics and paramedics working in pre-hospital settings. The medical device company joined JumpStart's Burton D. Morgan Mentoring Program in March 2012 and started consulting with a team of experienced entrepreneurs. Read more ...

Former Cleveland Browns player Al “Bubba” Baker devised a patented way to de-bone baby back ribs. His invention has led to appearances at national and local food shows, articles in magazines and a spot on ABC’s Shark Tank that led to a deal from FUBU founder Daymond John. Before these experiences, JumpStart helped Baker with press releases, media training and tradeshow displays—all so he could compellingly describe the his product’s advantages. “Marketing is a story,” he says. “You have to bring that story along with you as you evolve.” Read more ...

Intelligent Mobile Support’s cloud-based, mobile-friendly software platform provides service technicians and dealers easier, faster access to technical documents and expert information. The company’s second employee, Fran Paez, came aboard in early 2012. Before being hired, Paez met with JumpStart’s in-house entrepreneurial talent team and one of its venture partners. Their deep knowledge about Intelligent Mobile Support’s business model and strategic needs assured the candidate—a former naval flight officer with an MBA and experience in hardware and software sales—he was looking at the right opportunity. Read more ...